[Electron microscopic observations on the extrusion of enteroendocrine cells from the epithelium of the mouse small intestine].

By means of electronmicrographs it could be showed that enteroendocrine cells at the tips of the villi intestinalis are extruded in a way similar to other intestinal cells. They lose their contact to the basal lamina. An at first small process protrudes into the intestinal lumen. The cell as an entity can follow afterwards. Frequently this extrusion takes place together with neighbouring cells and as a consequence, there is a cell complex in the intestinal lumen which can be connected with the epithelium by means of a small cytoplasm bridge. A second way leads over rupturing of the protruding part of the cell and the extrusion of the cell residue.